


The boy and the books

by missing_fawkes



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bookstore, Bookstore Employee Castiel (Supernatural), Bookstores, Destiel - Freeform, Gen, One Shot, Self-Conscious Dean Winchester, Teen Dean Winchester, Teen Sam Winchester, Young Sam Winchester, destiel_fanfiction, one shot contest
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-15
Updated: 2019-09-15
Packaged: 2020-10-19 04:09:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,697
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20650967
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/missing_fawkes/pseuds/missing_fawkes
Summary: Ever so often the boy comes to the bookstore Castiel works at. His jeans look old and worn, his leather jacket is way too big for him and most of his shirts are so washed out that the print on them is barely recognizable





	The boy and the books

Ever so often the boy comes to the bookstore Castiel works at. His jeans look old and worn, his leather jacket is way too big for him and most of his shirts are so washed out that the print on them is barely recognizable.

He is a little younger than Castiel, but not by much, probably a Highschool senior.

The boy always comes with Sam.  
Sam is a chatty teenager who practically lives in the bookstore. He knows every employee, is friends with the owner and knows his way around the store better than anyone who works there.  
Castiel knows that Sam only ever buys something, when the boy is with him. When he's alone, he only looks at the books, reads a little in them and then puts them back on their shelves. Sometimes he rearranges them, but he has never bought anything on his own.

Sam lights up in the presence of the boy, even though he doesn't realize it.

His puppy excitement doubles and he smiles a lot more than when he's on his own.  
Most of the time they argue and tease each other. The boy calls Sam a nerd and ruffles his hair and then Sam will get annoyed and swat his hands away and they will call each other names with no heat behind it.

When Sam walks over to the books, the boy goes to the movie section of the store or slumps down in one of the arm chairs, looking purposefully bored.  
When Sam is done, the boy hands him the money and Sam always says something along the lines of:  
"You don't have to be here, you know? I could show you the receipt if you don't trust me."  
And the boy always answers with:  
"Go buy your damn book, Sammy."  
And ruffles Sam's hair again.  
Sam will roll his eyes, but they will both smile and then Sam comes to the register.

Castiel asks him about his grades and school and his clubs and tells him what book he's reading.  
He never asks about the boy and Sam never talks about him, but he is waiting for Sam at the exist and sometimes -just before the door closes behind them, he will look back at Castiel and smile at him.  
And Castiel will smile back and wonder why the boy never buys anything for himself.

Today though the boy comes alone. Sam is not with him and his steps are not as confident as they usually are. He looks to the ground and his shoulders are hunched like he is uncertain if he's allowed or wanted there.  
He doesn't go to the movies either and browses through the books instead. His fingers hesitate when they brush over Tolkien, Vonnegut and King.

Cas watches quietly, somehow feeling like an intruder in a very private moment. The boy lets the arm he had outstretched fall to his side again.

A mixture of wonder and sadness dances in his eyes while he looks at the books, before he slowly shakes his head.  
He turns around, heading for the exit and somehow Castiel does not want him to leave.  
He approaches to boy.

"May I help you?"

Judging by the way he flinches, Cas might as well have screamed directly into his ear.  
The boy looks guilty for some reason.  
Castiel can not figure out why.

He was just looking at the books.

"I uhm ... No", the boy fidgets with the sleeves of his jackets and looks anywhere but Cas,  
"No, I was just leaving. Sorry."  
He huffs out a breath. The boy looks even more nervous now.

"What for?", Castiel asks with honest curiosity. He has watched the boy ever since he came into the bookstore.  
So far the boy has just looked at books.  
As one does.  
In bookstores.

"I, you know ... ", the boy huffs out a nervous breath, his eyes dart from Castiel's face to the bookshelves and to the door, "probably shouldn't be here."

He makes a vague gesture with his hands and chuckles self-conciously.

"I mean, my little brother ain't with me, so you already know I won't buy anything and all that ..."

He picks up pace as he speaks, until the words come out in such a rush that Castiel is almost unable to understand them.  
Castiel is not the best with people.  
He's been told multiple times by his family and even friends that sometimes the most normal things fly over his head. He does not understand most pop culture references and has the tendency to take jokes too literal or too seriously. He knows that and he's fine with it. His awkward moments often make funny stories.

However, he has never been so at loss. Acoustically he's heard what the boy said, but he cannot make any sense of it.

Clarification won't come by itself, so he asks.

The boy already looks uncomfortable enough, so he goes for humor, putting on a smile he hopes is both winning and calming, but probably looks like a grimace if the way the boy watches him is any indication.

"This is how bookstores usually work, you know? You come in here, you browse a little, when you find something, you buy it. If you don't, then you don't."

"It's just ...", the boy interrupts himself again. He does that a lot today, Cas realizes. Cas has never seen him like this. Whenever he comes in with Sam, the boy is all confident steps and bright smiles. Now he is nervously rubbing is palms together and seems terribly insecure.  
Cas doesn't like this look on the boy. He also doesn't like the fact that he still has to call him 'the boy' in his head, when their conversation has been going on long enough to call for introductions.

"My name is Castiel", he says at the same time the boy says: "I feel like I shouldn't be here."

The boy uses Cas's stunned silence to introduce himself.  
"I'm Dean Winchester."  
As if he hasn't just confessed soul crushing insecurity.

Cas blinks and stares incredulously the boy - Dean.

"And what, Dean Winchester, would deny you the right to be in this store?"  
Cas tries his best not to show his growing frustration, but the whole situation is starting to annoy him. He has to drag out every little word from Dean and still does not understand him.

What on earth could prohibit anybody from coming to a bookstore?

A restraining order of course, but Cas knows for a fact that there's none filed against Dean.

"It's stupid", Dean finally breathes out, staring at a spot above Cas's shoulder with laser focus.  
"This whole thing ...", he makes another vague gesture that implies he's talking about the bookstore in its entirety,  
"books and smart stuff and all that. It's not really my deal. It's Sammy's, you know."  
His voice grows even more quiet until it's barely a whisper.  
"I feel like I shouldn't be here without him."

He looks so small when he says it. The jacket swallows him and he looks like a little boy who hid in his father's clothes only to realize that he was not grown up enough to fit them.  
Cas's heart breaks for him.

"You deserve to be here. Just like everyone else."  
"It's just a bookstore", he thinks.  
But he doesn't say it out loud.  
To Dean it seems to be a lot more than that.  
Cas wants to know why. And he wants to have a serious talk with the people who are responsible for that.

"Yeah, I know, it's stupid", Dean repeats and shrugs.  
He's gone before Cas can say anything else, but his words stay with him for the remainder of the day.

Over the course of the week Sam comes by multiple times, but Dean is never with him.  
Castiel doesn't think anything of it, but when Sam pays for a book by himself, he asks:  
"Is Dean not with you today?"

If Sam is surprised Cas knows his brother's name, he doesn't show it.  
He answers with a shrug, his eyes already trained on his newest possession.  
"Not really his thing, I think. Not enough pictures. Not enough chicks. Or at least that’s what he always says."

But Cas knows that's not true, which is why the decision is made in a heartbeat.

"Wait here for a second", he tells Sam and walks over to the section Dean was browsing through. He takes the giant Lord of the rings copy that contains all three books and takes it back to the register, enjoying the look of confusion on Sam's face. He puts it in the bag to Sam's order and smiles at the younger boy.

"Tell your brother, he's welcome to come back."

Sam shakes his head.

"Listen, I appreciate the gesture, but I can't pay you and I'm not even sure he'll read it. He doesn't even like 'nerdy stuff' as much as he used to, since ...", Sam trails off, realizing that his brother would probably not appreciate that his life is being discussed with strangers.

So Cas just nods.

"You don't have to pay for it, Sam. I will. And I am sure, Dean'll know."

Sam smiles.  
"Thanks Cas."

Cas nods and watches Sam leave, before he goes back to work. He doesn't think of it anymore, until he's done with his shift and closes up the store.  
That's when he sees Dean again.

His confident demeanor is back. He is all wide smiles and sparkling green eyes, but when he comes to a halt in front of Castiel, his face goes impossibly soft.  
Before Cas can say anything, he's being pulled into a bone-crushing hug.

It should be weird, but when he hears a choked up "thank you" whispered into his ear, the only thing Cas can think of is that this boy probably needs the hug as much as he needed the book.

It's just a hug to Cas.  
It was just a book to him.  
But it is so much more meaningful to Dean, which is why he is happy to provide both.

He still does not understand this boy.

But he wants to.

**Author's Note:**

> This is part of a one shot contest, I saw on my favorite fic recommendation page on Instagram. It is also the first work of mine that I am posting on Archive. I am not really happy with how it turned out, because I got stuck several times and tried to more or less successfully write through it.  
So any feedback is really appreciated.


End file.
